


Theories about White Court Vampires

by badassbutterfly1987



Category: The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Genre: Analysis, Biology, Character Analysis, Culture, Implied/Referenced Death in Childbirth, Incest Mention, Intersex, Parent/Child Incest, Politics, Theories, Traditions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:14:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26914219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badassbutterfly1987/pseuds/badassbutterfly1987
Summary: Basically a theoretical analysis of the White Court. i will be looking at it from a biological, political, and social perspective. I find the White Court to be one of the most interesting parts of The Dresden Files.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 3





	Theories about White Court Vampires

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work on AO3. I hope you like it. My information is mostly based from what I've read from the books, TV Tropes, and wikis.

White Court vampires are the only court (as far as we know) that can reproduce like humans. Most of the information here is from what we know of House Raith, since less is known about Houses Malvora and Skavis. I am going to suggest a few theories on how this works. 

What we know:  
1\. WCV are biologically human but magically vampires.  
2\. Their immortality is linked to their Hunger. Their aging is either slowed down or stopped completely after they first become vampires.  
3\. Male vampires can biologically impregnate human women; it isn’t through magic.  
4\. Male vampires have low fertility rates.  
5\. Pregnant human women have a 50/50 chance of dying during pregnancy or the baby not reaching full term. 

Most of what we don’t know is related to female WCV. Are they affected by menopause like human women and, if so, when does it occur? What are their fertility rates? Can they get pregnant at all? 

Some possible theories:  
1\. They are all biologically male but some present as women.  
2\. WCV females can get pregnant but the odds are lower than for human women.  
3\. All WCV are some form of hermaphrodite/intersex.  
4\. They reproduce biologically in any of the above ways but are helped by magic. 

Theory 1: Certainly possible, but I’m leaning more towards no. Single gender species do exist. Aphids reproduce by parthenogenesis and are born pregnant. When the female clownfish dies, the mature clownfish transitions into a female to continue reproduction. The Brahminy blind snake is the only all-female snake species and reproduce by parthenogenesis. You will notice that all of the above are bugs, fishes, and snakes; no mammals as far I know are known for this. These species are primarily female, which would be the opposite of theory 1. It also doesn’t fit with the incubus/succubus idea that the White Court presumably inspired. 

Theory 2: One of the more likely theories. Whether through magic or evolution, it clicked that reproduction within this subspecies of vampire was not sustainable in the long-term. The ability of males to impregnate biologically similar species was meant to avoid this problem. The fact that the White Court has plenty of members means that this worked. This might irritate some people but I am going to reference Twilight here: male vampires can reproduce with humans (even if it’s often fatal) but females cannot. Their bodies are essentially frozen to when they were made vampires. Eggs are essentially dead and can’t combine with sperm to make fetus. With WCV it could be that females can get pregnant but their womb is a harsher environment that leads to lower birth rates. 

Theory 3: Possible for within the courts but makes the “impregnating human females” bit more complicated. Snails, slugs, and worms are all hermaphrodites; they do mate with others in order to reproduce but only one of the two can lay eggs. Another species worth mentioning is the hyena. hyenas. Medieval scholars thought spotted hyenas were all male and reproduced homosexually. This probably happened because females have enlarged clitorises that look like penises before they give birth for the first time. The White Court could be similar, but any gender would have the ability to impregnate or be impregnated. An idea that I feel is supported by the Raith family seeming mostly bisexual and able to feed from any gender. An intersex species that is able and willing to reproduce with different genders of different species is an evolutionary advantage. 

Theory 4: Another likely theory. Young White Court members start with similar biology to humans. They only become full vampires when they lose their virginity when it isn’t with a true love partner (at least with House Raith). With this theory, the problems with fertility could be hampered or helped by the Hunger and slowed down aging. The Hunger could potentially kill one’s human partner before pregnancy even sets in. If my remembrance is correct, pregnancy complications can be caused by the baby accidentally feeding from the mother in the womb. This danger increases the likelihood of the mother dying early in the pregnancy (causing death of baby) or death during childbirth. One magical benefit is that slowed down aging and prolonged lifespans gives time for more children to be born and continue that particular genetic bloodline. I guess that’s a fair trade off? 

Another interesting question is if two White Court vampires are able to reproduce. Considering the low species fertility rate, I’m going to guess it’s a rare occurrence. Also, a small gene pool would lead to inbreeding. Hence, the choice of human partners. The Raiths already have an incest problem, they don’t need inbreeding as well (I am absolutely calling out Lord Raith here, he deserves it).

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any theories or speculation of your own I would love to hear it. Let me know if I made any mistakes in setting or misunderstood something. If you think I should change the rating or add some tags then let me know.


End file.
